AT&T (NYSE: T) isn’t going to let their exclusive iPhone and its prolific AppStore get all the mobile app glory anymore. The No. 2 US wireless carrier has been pushing mobile applications through their on-deck AT&T Media Mall for longer than Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has been selling the iPhone, and it seems AT&T wants to make a mobile app comeback. To that end, Big Blue has just acquired mobile app developer Plusmo.

What’s the big deal? Plusmo is in the business of making it easy to develop mobile apps for a variety of smartphones. Plusmo’s service champions the “code once, run everywhere” philosophy by giving developers the tools to convert/port their mobile app (coded in standardized web language) to the all sorts of smartphone platforms. With Plusmo’s technology under wing, AT&T is looking to encourage mobile devs to craft apps for all of its smartphones, not just the iPhone.

Why? Because AT&T won’t have the iPhone locked down forever. In fact, there’s a growing population of AT&T-hating iPhone lovers that probably wouldn’t have a problem dropping AT&T as their iPhone carrier… right now. When AT&T’s exclusive iPhone deal runs its course, it’s going to have to have a backup plan. That plan likely includes a smartphone portfolio that has enough mobile app support to keep AT&T at the top of its game.

[Update]
AT&T hasn’t fessed up to Plusmo’s purchase price yet, but we’re sure it’s a big number.

[Via: BusinessWeek]

Trimming in Public is a series where I go through my list of 293 RSS feeds, 10 feeds at a time, give some detail as to why I subscribed to a particular feed, and then decide whether or not to keep on consuming that feed. In Episode 1, I explained what RSS is and how to use it. Please read that if you need a refresher on why RSS is awesome and why you should be using it if you take reading news on the internet seriously. The prefix to Trimming in Public is “Becoming a better blogger, reader and helping me take out the trash.” For the bloggers out there who read IntoMobile, I hope you get a better idea of what I do to keep on top of the news. For the readers who read IntoMobile, I know that this site isn’t the only mobile focused technology publication on the internet, and by sharing which sites I read I’m hoping that you’ll keep on coming back here. Taking out the trash has an obvious explanation, I can’t keep up with my RSS feeds and need to trim my list. For those who want to download my complete list of 293 RSS feeds, feel free to grab my OPML file.

Check out Episode 18 after the jump, and all episodes by clicking on the Trimming in Public tag:

Read the full article »

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has unveiled a latest addition to its mobile offering. It’s called OneApp and it’s an application-service-platform that will bring popular services such as Facebook, Twitter and Windows Live Messenger to feature phone users. In that sense, we’re talking about a 150KB-heavy JavaME-based application, which in some way resembles other mobile widget platforms such as Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s Widsets, which is now part of the Ovi Store.

Developers are invited to participate and make their own apps for OneApp. The SDK is expected to be available by the end of this year, when interested individuals and companies will be able to submit their JavaScript and XML-based apps.

Finally, right from the bat, Microsoft has found the launch partner. It’s South Africa’s Blue Label Telecoms which will offer OneApp as part of its “mibli” service that will include “more than a dozen” apps. OneApp will be available as a free download, and users will be only charged for data use…

More information about OneApp is available from a dedicated page on Microsoft’s website. Before going there, make sure to check out the OneApp demo video after the jump.

Read the full article »

Now that Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has wrapped up Mosh, Share, and WidSets, they’re promising to launch the Ovi Store this week, and is, in fact, already live in Australia, Singapore and Ireland. Announced back at Mobile World Congress, the Ovi Store will incorporate aspects of those retired services, but the main goal will be to provide an all-encompassing, on-device software shop for folks with Nokia phones. Yeah, the iPhone started the trend, then Android followed up with their Marketplace and RIM eventually outed their own BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) App World, but the Ovi Store will stand distinctly apart as a notable social experience; Nokia will be including a suggestion engine based on what apps your friends are using, as well as your previous downloads. Apparently the U.S. won’t be able to bill their purchaces right to their service provider at launch, but it’s a model Nokia’s working on.

For updates on the status of the Ovi Store, sign up on their notification page.

[via Reuters]

Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s Ovi Store should be rolling out any day now, and as such they have been wrapping up projects like Mosh and WidSets, and now Ovi Share is getting the plug pulled. While Share won’t be shut down, Nokia will be stopping their investments in the media sharing service, while presumably working out how to bring it all into the Ovi Store fold. Having used Ovi Share for our Mobile World Congress coverage, I was pretty happy with it, but investors are right; Nokia shouldn’t be trying to replace popular services like Flickr and Facebook, but rather integrating with them like most other platforms are these days. 

[via Reuters]

Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s stab at the on-device software store game, the Ovi Store, will apparently not be launching with a carrier billing model as originally planned, at least in the U.S. Elsewhere in the world, like Australia, Britain, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Singapore, and Spain, would still be able to buy their apps and have the charge forwarded to their wireless operator bill. RIM has recently released the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) App World and had PayPal as the sole payment channel, but I’m sure like RIM, Nokia plans on integrating new options as quickly as possible, especially for the U.S., where their market share is still negligible. Still, this is a downer for those who were really looking forward to all of the bells and whistles, but the biggest differentiator will be the social aspect of the Ovi Store. It will keep an eye on what you and your friends are downloading, as well as where you are and make pertinent suggestions.  Mosh and WidSets have already been subsumed by the Ovi Store in preparation for the launch next month, and even without carrier billing in the U.S., it promises to be pretty awesome.

[via Reuters]

Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s widget platform, WidSets, is now going to be folded into Ovi in an attempt to get everything under one roof in time for the Ovi Store next month.  Mosh was recently closed down in a similar spirit, so it won’t be surprising to see other Nokia services rally together under Ovi later on in order to support the store. Presumably, WidSets widgets will be available for download through the Ovi Store, but if you have an existing WidSets account, it will be shut down as of June 1st.

[via The Register]

We knew Nokia (NYSE: NOK) will combine/integrate Mosh, Download! and WidSets into its Ovi Store, but somehow I always thought Mosh will keep living a parallel life, considering it’s pretty much ran by the community. Guess I was wrong, as the Finnish giant is moving towards closing the service, which apparently had stoked tension between Nokia and record labels.

So far, Mosh has reached 137 million downloads, which is an impressive number considering that there has been no marketing machine behind it. In that sense, we’re sorry to see it going, but then again we’re hoping the knowledge and experience Nokia gained from Mosh will be well used for the Ovi Store. Strategy Analytics’ David MacQueen thinks so, adding that the Finnish giant paid its lessons and have learned how to run an open store, how to get developers products quickly to the market and how user recommendations should work. “Mosh will die, but I would contend that in many ways the new Ovi Store is the child of Mosh rather than the child of Download,” he concluded.

Mosh is living its last days, although we don’t know the exact “it’s dead” date. Will you miss it? Any thoughts?

[Via: Reuters]

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) unveiled its mobile application storefront and it’s called Ovi Store. Set to begin operating in May of this year, the new service is designed to go well beyond any other mobile application store on the market. Nokia’s trick is to offer users much more than applications and games, by including other content like images, podcasts, audiobooks, widgets and more through a single interface. In that sense, the Finnish giant will consolidate the best experiences from its existing content services including Download!, MOSH and WidSets to a single channel.

But that’s not all. Unlike other content/application stores out there, Nokia said their Ovi Store will be the first social- and location-aware storefront. What this means is that you will receive different mobile content recommendations based on your and your friends’ preferences, and current location. This may sound spooky for the privacy advocates, but the whole thing is made to function in an opt-in manner, only if user activates social discovery “engine.”

Beginning in March, content providers, developers and the existing Forum Nokia developer ecosystem can begin uploading their content at publish.ovi.com to be among first one to distribute their media through Nokia’s mobile store. Developers will enjoy a 70% split in sales.

The upcoming Nokia N97 will be the first device to include the pre-loaded Ovi Store client, while existing Nokia Series 40 and S60 users will have to download a dedicated application.

Finally, to appeal to both end-users and operators, Nokia will allow two type of payments for the content – either using a credit card or through operator billing. Guess the latter model is designed to get more carriers on board.

In a nutshell – impressive plans, now let’s wait and see how will this work in real life.

Just recently I was contacted by a Moblica employee, who wanted to explain me what they’re doing. It turned out they have a compelling offering. It’s called Snaptu and it looks like a really cool mobile widget platform, something like Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s WidSets.

Naturally — like that’s case with most mobile widget platforms — the basic application is free to download, and the idea here is to make money out of advertising. Once the app is installed, you can easily add and remove Snaptu apps.

To make Snaptu instantly interesting to the end users, Moblica has signed up partnership agreements with media companies and content providers, as well as opened up its API to get developers on board.

As of December 2008, the following services are live on Snaptu: Accuweather global weather forecast, Goal Ventures live football scores, MyMovies movie reviews and UK charts, SeatWave fan-to-fan tickets for European concerts, Fancyapint London pub guide, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Picasa, Google Calendar, Transport for London journey planner and tube status, Thomson Reuters news reader, Facebook mobile application and more.

Snaptu works on most modern phones — BlackBerrys have been recently included in the mix, as well as select touchscreen-equipped handsets such as Samsung Instinct — and in order to download it, hop over to snaptu.com and take it from there. Alternatively, you can point your mobile browser to m.snaptu.com and install the app without connecting your phone to a PC.